Rogue Element

‘The US wants a stable Indonesia. That’s its first priority. It talks democracy, but it wants stability more. Indonesia is a democracy at the moment, but this so-called freedom threatens our very existence. There are forces within that want the nation torn apart. And the government won’t do anything about it, because it doesn’t have the required strength. Religious fundamentalism is growing in voice and action. You have felt the effects of that yourselves. And, as you know, many provinces now openly demand secession. A strong military hand is the only answer. Indeed, it is in your interest. We would stop this disintegration. We see no other way. You might not like having a strong military government in the region, but what is the alternative?’ Masri let the thought hang in the air before continuing. ‘America would realise this, and do nothing.’

Griffin cleared his throat uncomfortably. He’d talked about Indonesia going down this path. He felt like he’d almost willed it to come to pass, but at the same time knew that was ridiculious.

‘It sounds to me like you don’t regret any of this. So why did you turn yourself over to our embassy?’ asked Niven calmly.

‘It was the attack on the Qantas plane,’ said Masri, looking down at his hands. All at once, his demeanour changed from a proud general to that of a deeply disillusioned man.

‘General Suluang told us a file containing invasion details was stolen over the Internet. The terrorist was traced to the plane. He had the aircraft shot down to keep the plan a secret.’

‘You, personally, would happily invade Australia but not shoot down a plane?’ said Griffin, that particular piece of logic seeming dubious to him.

‘Yes, I’m a soldier and soldiers don’t kill civilians. I’m tired of killing civilians. I’m a patriot, not a murderer,’ said Masri, becoming more agitated. ‘That’s why I agreed to the coup — because I saw a way to end the bloodshed between my men and the people of Indonesia. But what Suluang did was murder and I wanted no part of it. That’s why I’ve turned my back on him and the rest — why I’m here, talking to you. And there is something else you should know.’ He slumped back down against his pillows, head forward, a ruined, beaten figure.

‘And what’s that?’ asked the PM, ready for anything.

‘There are survivors.’

‘We know,’ said the PM, relieved that it wasn’t yet another bombshell. ‘You told our ambassador after your car accident. You were semiconscious.’

Masri suddenly appeared disoriented. ‘Did I also tell you that Suluang’s Kopassus are trying to find and kill them?’

‘Yes,’ said the PM.

Masri looked around nervously, unsure of what he might or might not have said when he was lying outside the embassy. ‘General Suluang sent Kopassus to the crash site to secure it; to remove evidence of missile damage, and to ensure there were no witnesses. There were two survivors.’

Niven realised that his own mouth was slack. He swallowed. The general’s confession was an astonishing window on desperation. He fought back the desire to sneeze and gave his nose a good blow into a tissue instead.

The Australians had agreed amongst themselves before the videoconference that they would not reveal to the general the dispatch of SAS troops to Sulawesi.

There was silence in the room. The general sat propped up in bed facing the camera, the bruised skin on his round, smooth face turned the consistency of putty by the videocamera’s resolution. His eyebrows drooped over soft brown eyes and, despite the heavy bandage covering most of his head, the overall effect was surprisingly avuncular. Mao — Niven was aware of the general’s nickname, and he could see the similarity. It was a friendly face. But appearances could be deceptive.

‘Roger, I think we need to talk things over here for a bit,’ said Blight, trying to get his head around some of the practical issues now facing Australia and, more specifically, the men gathered with him in front of the monitor.

‘Okay, Bill. And General Masri…?’

The general. What the hell were they going to do with the bastard? wondered Blight. He considered that before answering. ‘General, for what it’s worth, I think your plan was despicable. You’re nothing more than a mass murderer.’ He paused, fighting with himself. ‘However, and I’m kicking myself for saying this, I also have to thank you for coming to us with this information. If you cooperate with us, you’ll get asylum. But, I stress, that cooperation would be unconditional.’

The general nodded rigidly, with some obvious degree of discomfort that wasn’t just physical.

‘Roger, we’ll get back to you when we have some bloody idea what to do next,’ said Blight.

The ambassador nodded. ‘I’ll let you know if anything else turns up,’ he said before the screen went blank.

There was a chorus of sighs in the room, as if everyone had been holding their breath.

The lights came up and the men squinted painfully.

‘There’s your motive — invasion. It almost makes a crazy kind of sense now,’ said Niven.

‘Yep,’ said Griffin.